ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style1 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> Arnold&#39;s Flop</b></font><p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright May 20, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style1">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="style1">S</span>lapped by voters in a special election May 19 designed rescue California s budget, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got a rude awakening realizing he has no more credibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Swept into office Oct. 8, 2003 in a special recall election, Arnold promised voters,  I will not fail you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Less than six years later, the 61-year-old Austrian born former body building champion and Hollywood action star has failed miserably to govern either the small but rebellious GOP minority or the liberal Democratic majority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His first taste of defeat came June 22, 2006 when voters also rejected his attempt to bypass the state legislature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Yesterday s results reflect voters frustration with the governor, sending him a loud message:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Go back to elected officials in the state assembly and senate and fix the budget mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Special elections are no substitute for leading state government.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Less than a year-and-a-half away from California s next gubernatorial election, Arnold wished for early retirement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Members of both parties wish he would step aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>California now faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit, prompting Arnold to threaten mass state layoffs and to hack further in the education budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I think he s discovered that this job is a lot harder than he anticipated in a state of economic downturn, said State Treasurer Bill Lockyear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arnold came to power promising to stop  crazy deficit spending, something he and voters blamed on former Gov. Gray Davis, tossed from office in Oct. 8, 2003.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Signing on to a GOP  no tax pledge, Arnold betrayed fellow Republicans raising taxes in April 2009, closing a whopping $42 billion deficit, caused by a stubborn recession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No longer trusted either by Democrats or Republicans, Sacramento lacks leadership.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>California s small but powerful GOP minority holds the cards on how the state will manage its economic crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arnold can no longer persuade any more of his GOP colleagues to raise taxes, having already squeezed taxpayers to the breaking point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Seeking more cuts in the education budget won t go over well with Democratic legislators already disgusted with attempts by the GOP to gut an already stripped down system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The biggest loser would be Arnold, said Sonoma State political science professor Dave McCuan, believing the governor has become radioactive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  It s time to start looking for a Cabinet post in the Obama administration or an ambassadorship somewhere warm, a sarcastic appraisal of Schwarzenegger s political future. Failing to deliver on any of his campaign promise since taking office, Arnold no longer has much political appeal.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>California s budget process is deeply flawed, requiring and two-thirds vote of the legislature to pass a budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of Republicans believe the state budget is saturated with fat, demanding draconic spending cuts, especially in education and social services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Democrats, on the other hand, recognize the latest census figures putting California s population over 38 million, trying to balance newcomers needs of the nation s largest immigrant population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s easy for Arnold and the GOP to slash budgets when the lion s share of the state s resources go to education, social services and a growing prison population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arnold now threatens to sell-off state historical monuments, like San Quentin prison or the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to make up the budget deficit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before the election, he tried to intimidate voters threatening to slash more education and social programs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Arnold s persuasive powers fell on deaf ears as voters rejected all the state propositions except the one to limit legislators pay during recessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With voter turnout at around 19%, mostly conservative voters went to the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They have little sympathy for Arnold because they believe he should be working out the budget mess in the legislature not imposing solutions on voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> For a lot of people, the budget s been an abstraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But with the next round, there will probably be the serious consequences, particularly in the schools, said Claremont McKenna political science professor Jack Pitney, not considering other options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Sixty-percent of California s prison population are in for non-violent drug-related offenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Commuting sentences, providing more rehabilitation and emptying prisons of non-violent drug offenders would save the sate billions in tax dollars.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Schwarzenegger has proven he can neither govern nor offer any constructive solutions to the state s budget mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He s become a obstacle to the state legislature, no longer trusted by his own Party or Democrats with whom he must show the kind of agility needed to solve the state&#39;s problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arnold s intimidation tactics before Tuesday s vote turned off voters, resulting in a resounding defeat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Voters know the state is in serious trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They want the governor to show the kind of leadership needed to find an equitable solution for the state s 38 million residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of wasting millions on a special election, Arnold should have worked with legislature to fix the state s flawed budget process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Voters made a big mistake in a special election in 2003 putting Arnold in office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They re not going to reward him now for not doing his job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If he can t do his job, he should resign.</p> <p><u><b>About the Author</b></u></p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He&#39;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet </a>and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<u><br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>